Department of Justice

Opa-Locka Resident Sentenced to 63 Months in Prison for Possession of Unregistered Firearm

An Opa-Locka resident was sentenced yesterday to 63 months in federal prison, after having been convicted at trial of possession of an unregistered firearm.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Ari C. Shapira, Special Agent in Charge, United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, and Daniel Giustino, Chief, Pembroke Pines Police Department, made the announcement.

On February 9, 2017, Adrian Tremayne Wilson, 39, of Opa-Locka, was convicted at trial by a federal jury of possession of an unregistered firearm, commonly referred to as a sawed-off shotgun, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Sections 5861(d) and 5871. Yesterday, United States District Judge William J. Zloch sentenced Wilson to 63 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.

According to court records, including evidence presented during the defendant’s trial, on June 12, 2016, an officer of the Pembroke Pines Police Department approached Wilson inside a Speedway gas station and convenience store intending to issue traffic citations to him. Before Wilson pulled into the gas station, he had been observed speeding and committing other traffic infractions. When the officer asked Wilson for his driver’s license, Wilson began cursing at the officer, calling him a racist, claiming he was being harassed, and he refused to provide his driver’s license, which at the time he had in his pocket.

The officer told Wilson that if he refused to produce his driver’s license, he would be arrested. Wilson replied, “Then arrest me.” After Wilson was arrested, the officer impounded his vehicle. During a routine inventory of the contents of Wilson’s vehicle, the officer discovered a firearm located next to the driver’s seat. The firearm was loaded with four 12 gauge shotgun shells, one of which was in the firing chamber. The firearm was not registered to Wilson in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record as required by law.

This case stems from Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigative efforts of ATF and the Pembroke Pines Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William T. Shockley.